Foil feeding device for stamping machines



April 14, 1953 P. J. HAHN, SR 2,634,973

FOIL FEEDING DEVICE FOR STAMPING MACHINES Filed Dec. 21, 1948 A as 1 in/0025b? Patented Apr. 14, 1953 ron. FEEDING DEVICE FOR. STAMPING MACHINES Peter J. Hahn, Sin, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Peter J. Hahn & Sons Company, Chicago, Ill.

Application December 21, 1948, Serial No. 66,459

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved foil feeding device for stamping machines.

There are a variety of stamping machines now on the market which employ foil such as gold foil in the imprinting and monogramming of items such as napkins, billfolds, fountain pen barrels and many other articles. Various feeding devices of foil have been employed on these prior stamping machines. However, very few of these machines have taken into account the variance in the amount of foil used when there is a change in the number of lines of type to be imprinted. Another inadequacy in prior machines was the inability of the machine to maintain the foil supply spool and the foil take-up spool in proper alignment so that the foil would be properly centered beneath the type and would not have a tendency to move to one side or the other.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a foil feeding device for printing machines in which the foil feed may be regulated to compensate for the number of lines of type to be imprinted and will therefore use foil to the best economical advantage. 7

An important object of this invention is the provision of means for adjusting the amount of foil feed commensurate with the number of lines of type to be imprinted whereby only that amount of foil will be used that is necessary to enable the type to imprint foil over its full surface.

Another important object of this invention is to supply an accurately adjustable device capable of varying the foil feed in an imprinting machine in increments of an amount equal to the width of one row of type.

A further object of this invention is to provide means wherein the movement of the stamping head will cause a corresponding movement of the foil, an amount equal to the width of the combined totals of the number of rows of type being imprinted.

A still further important object of this invention is to provide a means for maintaining the foil used in an imprinting press in proper alignment beneath the type to make the imprinting impression.

Another and still further important object of this invention is to provide cooperative milled rollers adapted to feed foil in a stamping machine and arranged and constructed whereby one of the rolls is spring mounted with respect to the other of the rolls to accomplish a resilient pressure of the one roll against the other roll, over the full length thereof and thereby affect a uniform feeding of the foil.

Another and still further important object of this invention is to provide cooperative rollers for accomplishing foil feeding in a gold. stamping machine in which the one of said cooperative rolls is mounted on spring mounted arms which are eccentrically pivoted on and with respect to a housing and thereupon make possible a minute adjustment of the one roll with respect to the other roll to maintain constant parallelism therebetween.

Other and further important objects of this invention will become apparent from the disclosures in the following specification and accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view of the stamping machine employing the foil feed of this invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the device of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged side-view detail of a portion of the device as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an enlarged side-view detail of the eccentric adjusting screw for the cooperative roller foil feed.

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view showing the eccentric adjusting screw of Figure 8.

As shown in the drawings:

The reference numeral l0 indicates generally a frame or supporting structure having a base H and an upwardly and forwardly extending G- shaped member l2 forming a support for a stamping head l3 which is reciprocable vertically between an upwardly disposed position as shown in Figure 2, and a platen I4 mounted on the base II. The stamping head 53 includes an upwardly extending piston member [5, having a gear rack it on the rear side thereof. A gear wheel IT mounted on a shaft [8 is adapted to engage the gear rack i6. Upon rotational movement of a handle it which is fixed to the shaft 58 by means of a set screw 20, the head i3 is moved downwardly toward theplaten M. A spring 2| normally holds the stamping head 13 in an upwardly disposed position such as shown in Figure 2. The stamping head 13 is adapted to carry the type holding stick 22. The type stick 22 is securely held in the stamping head it by means of a threaded set screw 23. A foil supply real or spool 24 is mounted on bracket members 25 extending forwardly from the stamping head [3.

The spool 24 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 26. A supply of foil such as gold foil for effecting imprinting or stamping is mounted on the spool 24 and is adapted to pass beneath the stamping head [3 as shown at 21, and thereupon pass outwardly through the rear of the stamping machine. A guide member 28 is anchored at 29 on the stamping head and provides for the uninterrupted feeding of foil 21 beneath the stamping head and thereupon out between the guide members at the rear of the stamping machine.

The present invention relates particularly to the feeding of the foil 21 out the rear of the machine. The rear side of the supporting structure l comprises a rectangularly framed opening 30 having spaced vertical side members 3| and 32 between which the foil 2'! passes. The frame 34 is completed by a top member 33 and the base It forms the bottom side thereof. A pair of cooperative rollers 34 and 35 have transversely milled surfaces for the purposes of securely gripping the foil 21 as indicated in Figure 4 of the drawing. The rolls 34 and 35 are mounted between the Vertical side members 3! and 32 of the rectangular frame at the rear of the supporting structure of the stamping machine. The milled roller 34 is mounted on a shaft 36 which is journally mounted in the sides 3! and 32 of the frame structure. The roller, 34 is the drive roller and is the sole means for feeding the foil.

The driving means for the roll 34 is obtained from the arcuate swinging movement of the handle l9 which causes vertical reciprocation of the stamping head l3. The shaft 18 carrying the gear 11 for accomplishing vertical movement of the head has mounted thereon on the end opposite the handle 19 a short link member 31 which has a forked clamping end 33. The clamp 33 is drawn together by a screw 39 for drawing the link tightly to the shaft I8 so that rotation of the shaft causes simultaneous rotation and thus swinging of the link 31. A longer link member 40 is pivotally joined at 4! to the outer end of the short link 3'! and is itself pivotally attached at its other end at 42 to a second short link 43, which is journally mounted over the shaft 33 so that it rotates separately therefrom.

As best shown in Figure 3, the link 43 carries a pawl member 44 which is pivotally attached to the link 43 at 45. A spring 43 is arranged in such a manner that the pawl 44 tends to swing toward the short link 43. A ratchet wheel 41 is fixedly mounted on the shaft 36 so that upon rotation thereof the roller 34 will also be rotated. The pawl 44 is adapted to engage the teeth 48 of the ratchet wheel and upon swinging movement of the link 43 about its journal mounting on the shaft 35, the pawl will engage the teeth and move the ratchet wheel 41 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure 3. It should be understood that upon a rotating of the handle 19 to effect a downward movement of the stamping head E3, the short link 43 will be raised in a clockwise direction causing the pawl 44 to be similarly raised and the operative end of the pawl will ride over the inclined edges of the teeth 48, whereupon no movement will be imparted from the pawl to the ratchet. However, upon the return movement of the handle It to its position as shown in Figure 2, after the stamping head has been moved down to the platen l4, the pawl will then pick up the ratchet teeth and engage the right angle edges of the ratchet and cause rotation of the ratchet wheel and thus also the milled roller 34. A full 4 movement of the handle l3 will effect a constant movement of the pawl 44 and without other interference will effect a like rotation of the ratchet 41 and thus the roller 34 each time the handle is operated to cause imprinting of foil on some object.

In the use of this stamping machine it is possible to use a type stick which will hold one, two, three or even more lines of type, and thus it is not always necessary or even desirable to advance the foil a constant distance each time an impression is made. In order to effect a most economical usage of foil it is therefore the purpose of this machine to advance the foil a dis= tance commensurate with the number of lines of type used in the stamping head. An arcuate shield 49 is adapted to extend around a portion of the peripheral teeth 48 of the ratchet wheel 41 and by inter-position between the ratchet wheel and the pawl 44, the effectiveness of the driving of the ratchet wheel by the pawl is thus controlled. The shield 49 is mounted on a disc like member 5!! which is in turn journalled on the shaft 35 on the outside of the frame supporting structural member 3i. A downwardly depending forked arm 5! of the disc 30 carries a latch member 52 which is pivoted at 53 on the forked arm 5! for the purpose of engaging any one of a series of arcuately positioned notches 54 in a bracket member 55 mounted on the side wall of the supporting structure it! by rivets or the like 56. It will be seen that the shield 49 is adjustable in its position relative to the ratchet wheel 47, and movement of the ratchet wheel by the pawl 44 which has a constant throw may thus be varied by the various positions the shield 49 may assume. If, for example, two rows of type are employed, then it is desirable to set the shield 43 at the second notch from the right hand side of the arcuate bracket 55. In this setting and with proper calibration of the notches 54 the effective movement of the ratchet wheel will be two teeth and thus the corresponding movement of the milled roller 34 which drives the discharge of the foil 27 will be equal to'two teeth of the ratchet wheel 47, which is identical to two rows of type as shown in the type stick 22. Complete economy of foil used is accomplished merely by setting the shield 43 to the proper position be tween the ratchet wheel 4? and the driving pawl 44 for causing discharge movement of the foil 2? only to that amount determined by the number of rows of type used in the stamping head. The dashed line position of the pawl 44 and its respective connecting link 43, is shown in Figure 2 of the drawings wherein the pawl 44 is on top of the shield 43.

The milled roller 34 is the driving factor for the foil 2?. However, the cooperative milled roller 35 is for the purpose of maintaining the foil in driving relationship with the roller 34, and it must be provided with a resiliency and yieldability to compensate for various thicknesses 0r irregularities in the foil being used in the imprinting process.

A pair of spaced arms 5? and 58 are substantially parallel one to the other and each is disposed adjacent one of the side members 3| and 32 respectively of the rectangular frame 38 in the rear of the stamping machine. The ends of the arms 57 and 58 which are disposed forwardly in a direction defined by the forward end of the stamping machine are supported by a shaft 59 which as best shown in Figure 7 is journally supported within the members 3| and 32. The

shaft 59 is provided with a concentric end 69 for its journal mounting within the frame member 3|. The end 60 is further provided with a slot 6| for reception of a screw driver or like tool to effect rotation of the shaft 59. The other end of the shaft 59 is equipped with an eccentric end portion 62 for its journal within the frame member 32. It will be apparent that as the shaft 59 is rotated as indicated by means of a tool engaging the cross slot 9!, the arm 58 will have relative longitudinal movement with respect to the arm 5! so that very accurate alignment of the arms 51 and 58 may be had with respect to the supporting structure 10 of this stamping machine.

The roll 35 is provided with shaft members 63 and 64 for journalling within the arms 51 and 58 respectively at points spaced rearwardly of the pivotal attachment of the arms within the supporting structure [0. The milled roller 35 is thus capable of arcuate swinging movement about the shaft 59 and by means of the eccentric adjusting means associated with this shaft 59, the milled roller 35 can be accurately adjusted for parallelism with respect to its cooperative driving milled roller 34, whereby the foil 2'! fed therebetween has no tendency whatever to have sidewise movement.

The rearward ends of the arms 51 and 58, or at least those ends of the arms disposed opposite the ends of pivotal attachment on the shaft 59 carry a loosely journalled shaft 65. The shaft 65 is disposed parallel to the pivotal shaft 59 and also the milled cooperative roller 35. The cross shaft 55 is journalled within openings 66 and 6'! in the arms 51 and 58 respectively. These openings are of considerably greater diameter than the outer diameter of the shaft 65 and thus permit relative angular tilting of the arms 51 and 58 without constricting interference by reason of the shaft 65. A leaf spring 58 is anchored by means of a bolt or the like 69 to the top portion 33 of the frame supporting structure 10. The spring 68 has a downwardly curved portion 10 adapted to bear downwardly against the shaft 65 substantially midway between the ends thereof as best shown in Figure 1. In view of this particular construction it is now evident that the foil 2'! is fed rearwardly from its source of supply 24, beneath the stamping head I 3, and thereupon outwardly through the rearward end of the machine over a u g r feeding Shelf member H. The foil passes through the cooperative feeding rollers 34 and 35 and the roller 35 yields to assume any position dependent upon arising contingencies. Should the foil be of greater thickness at one side than at the other side, the roller 35 will be able to raise at that one side and still maintain contact at the thin side of the foil.

It is believed that herein is provided a novel feeding means for foil imprinting machines. The adjustable means for effecting variable drive of the foil in combination with the means for effecting accurate parallelism between the cooperative milled driving rollers and the yieldably floating milled roller at the top of the cooperative rollers combine to form a complete and very desirable foil imprinting machine.

I am aware that numerous details of construction may be varied throughout a wide range without departing from the principles disclosed herein, and I therefore do not propose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A foil feeding mechanism for foil imprinting machines comprising a supporting structure having spaced portions, a pair of cooperative rolls, the first of said rolls journally mounted in said supporting structure and rotatably driven, means mounting the second of said rolls for movement toward and away from the first of said rolls, spring means normally urging the second of said rolls to a contacting position with the first of said rolls, said means mounting the second of said rolls including separate spaced apart arms, mounting means for each of said arms for pivotal attachment to said supporting structure at spaced apart portions thereof, said second roll carried by said spaced apart arms at points spaced from their pivotal attachments, said mounting means including a shaft spanning said spaced portions of the supporting structure, said shaft having one end thereof concentrically journalled in one portion of the supporting structure and the other end thereof having an eccentric extension and journalled in the other spaced portion of the supporting structure, and means for rotating said shaft whereby the arm adjacent the eccentric extension may be shifted from its original relationship with respect to the other arm and thereupon the second of said rolls may be accurately adjusted to parallelism with respect to the first of said rolls.

2. A foil feeding mechanism for foil imprinting machines comprising a supporting structure having spaced portions, a pair of cooperative rolls, the first of said rolls journally mounted in said supporting structure and rotatably driven, means mounting the second of said rolls for movement toward and away from the first of said rolls, spring means normally urging the second of said rolls to a contacting position with the first of said rolls, said means mounting the second of said rolls including a pair of separate spaced apart arms, mounting means for each of said arms for pivotal attachment to said supporting structure, said second roll carried by said separate spaced apart arms at points spaced from their pivotal attachments, a cross shaft loosely journalled in the ends of said separate pair of spaced apart arms opposite their pivotal attachment, and said spring means including a leaf spring anchored to said supporting structure and arranged and constructed to bear against a central portion of said cross shaft, whereby the second of said rolls yieldingly contacts the first of said rolls regardless of irregularities in thicknesses of foils used.

PETER J. HAHN, SR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 816,399 Taylor Mar. 2'7, 1906 1,185,260 Stine May 30, 1916 1,301,890 Winter Apr. 29, 1919 1,438,191 Smith Dec. 12, 1922 2,004,021 Tucker June 4, 1935 2,035,957 Gabrielsen Mar. 31, 1936 2,102,895 Hasbrouck Dec. 21, 1937 2,155,185 Gangel Apr. 18, 1939 2,320,659 *Sahlin June 1, 1943 2,341,636 Luehrs Feb. 15, 1944 2,499,699 Tinkham Mar. '7, 1950 

